7 Essential Arts & Culture Events in January

2020 is upon us and, with it, a likely stretch of inclement weather. Luckily, the cold months are no deterrent for culture makers in BC, for there are more than enough exciting events to keep you entertained and fending off the winter blues. What follows is a list of performances and exhibitions that will surely keep your senses warm, even as the mercury drops.

Free Admission | URSULA MARTINEZ
January 31 – February 2 
Scotiabank Dance Centre, 677 Davie Street, Vancouver

Part comedic venting-session, part intimate-confessional, Free Admission shatters the 4th wall, then reinforces it with a concrete brick. UK artist, Ursula Martinez, has travelled the world with this one-woman show on the absurdity of modern life and it’s emotional casualties. All through a train of thought monologue, Martinez builds a brick wall between herself and the audience, until she’s completely shut off. A biting meditation on politics, sex, social media and societal norms, this is a Push Festival ticket that will give you food for thought, even if you have to chew a little scenery to get there. For more information, visit www.pushfestival.ca.

Unikkaaqtuat (The Old Stories) | Artcirq, The 7 Fingers and Taqqut Productions (Igloolik / Montreal / Iqaluit) |
January 22-25
Vancouver Playhouse, 600 Hamilton Street, Vancouver

This moody and beautiful show is a spectacle of variety, mixing shadow work, acrobatics, projection, and live musicianship. Unikkaaqtuat is an inspired retelling of Inuit founding myths with a cast of culturally diversified circus artists and musicians. Witness how seamlessly these artists complement each other and move as one. For more information, visit www.dancehouse.ca

The Passenger
January 30 – February 2
Chan Centre, 6265 Crescent Rd, Vancouver

Written in the 1960s but only premiering ten years ago, The Passenger is a harrowing opera by Polish-born Soviet composer, Mieczysław Weinberg. The story follows ex-nazi Lisa as she flees to Brazil to escape persecution. On a journey to shed her past, Lisa encounters visions that won’t allow it. She’s forced to come to terms with who she is and the reality of her actions. Sung in Russian, Polish, German, Yiddish, French, English, and Czech, the music is as beautiful as the tale. For more information, visit www.chancentre.com.

Of The Fields, Lately
January 23-26
Langley Players Drama Club, 4307 200 St, Langley

In this Canadian written drama, an estranged son returns home and must determine his inherited role there. Faced with taking up the mantle left by his father, his visit forces him to accept being in charge of a potentially sinking ship. An intimate show that wonderfully articulates how complex and trying family dynamics can be. For more information, visit www.tourism-langley.ca.

The Democratic Set
January 21-23, 25
Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver

Is it a performance piece or an art installation? This Push Festival experience offers a collection of 15-second video vignettes that defy explanation. The Democratic Set is a touring experience from Australia not to be missed. With only a wooden box set and a panning camera, the piece exists within the spontaneity of its subjects and their willingness to be vulnerable. For more information, visit www./neworldtheatre.com.

The Shoplifters
January 9
BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts, 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver

January 10-11
Kay Meek Arts Centre, 1700 Mathers Ave, West Vancouver

January 14 & 20
Anvil Centre, 777 Columbia Street, New Westminster 

Coming off of a successful 2019 run at the Arts Club’s Granville Island Stage, this Morris Panych production is heading out on tour throughout the Lower Mainland. A comedy of criminal errors, The Shoplifters concerns two small-time crooks with sticky fingers, facing off against a not-so crack security team. What follows is a hilarious 90 minutes of blame dodging and taking the wind out of the authority’s sometimes puffed up sails. Highly recommended if you need of a good laugh. For more ticket information, visit www.artsclub.com.

Mama’s Boy
January 23-24
Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, 6450 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby

One of Canada’s top comedians, Mike Delamont, brings his one-man touring show to Burnaby. Affecting and funny, Mama’s Boy acts as a verbal memoir of the artist’s life growing up. With his mother dealing with addiction, Delamont accepts the challenge of supporting her and finding the humour in a bleak situation. For information and tickets, visit www.burnaby.ca.

For more events, visit our events calendar.

Story by West Coast Curated